The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 30, 1898, Page 20

20 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALI.; SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 1898. GREAT ANNUAL SALE OF CONVICT LABOR IN MANY AND CHILDREN CALLY SOLD ME EN ARE PRACTI- INTO SLAVERY. a fashion slavery still s in the United States! Only the other day at Albion, Fla., 430 men, women and children were sold into a bondage worse than death, and the State of Florida to-day is richer by $21,000. To be sure, these poor wretches were convicts, and had broken the laws. But they were none the less human beings. You might have had some difficulty in realizing this could you have seen them as I saw them in all the misery of thelr hor squalid dejection. 1 they were hought, body and soul, for the jod of one vear. The State sold them to four contractors, who had made the highest hids. Ne ar they will have other masters. They have no penitentiary in Florida e convicts are sold into sl » build penitentiaries means the nditure of money, and this the leg- fslators are not willing to vote for, even were the property owners willing to be t and so ery, exy th ed. So the State of Florida, instead of providing accommodatior for its criminals, derives a pecunlary benefit from a form of traffic which is appalling in this age of civilization and in this land of the free. It isn't avery in Fiorida. There is r to ¢ “How for this man?” ind raising of bids. dy been done to a the entire lot n Y offer re i{s no bidding bidding hs tate offic! 'n knocked down to the highest Oh, no, it is not the selling ill tell you. Th merely the ». Albion is the State con- eviou ackled gan en coming ym the phosphate mines : turpen- re they had b st year. TI crowded into the stock to .\.1 “told, le little more > when con- interested, mean the venient to th which, ur: convicts the T stockade. were white, r a few en convicted aver offend. enalty of the > techmicality Some wished s had escaped the w, either through th the Governor. of them though they s natnral ¢ ranged along the stoc had been huddled tog s and nights, like s hw slaughter pe They where they v one hundred of been compelled to the cold ground, with the and clear sky for a blanket. v have been better than lot of the others, who were into the little bui'ding, breath- foul and putrid atr over and the t clothes were tattered of the men were without All were dirty, and there was face in which could be detected lightest gleam of hope. They knew their fate. They knew what the past had taught them, and what the future had in store. The contractors whose 1 just expired had used the greatest efforts to get the most work possible out of their purchases Many The old 1 s had expired, and the new ones for the year 1898 had been ted. The new be ecalled s 3.3 Brothers. : They hitd dsclded upor & Hiviston of the fon. . and they actually drew who should: have .nnl the We the order na Cranford chose others of the lots to the first choice ts and Camps followed in his man, then the followed, selecting the strongest erable looking beings arrayed before them, Of course there is al- ways a desire to secure the long-term men; that is, those who are serving life sentences have vears to run. For at the last session of the Legislature a new lease of four ars was decided upon. And four years s a long time to live under such con- ditions! It was not until nightfall that the four dealers in human beings had de- cided upon their various choices. One man was employed to check off the names and keep the record of the con- viets as they were chosen by the con- sentences, or whose tractors. This man w Alexander Campbell, who is serving a life sen- tence for murdering his_ sweetheart, pretty Mamie Joseph, at St. Augustine several years ago. The tragedy was one of the most shocking that has oc- curred in the history of the State, the voung girl being pursued in the shrub- bery at her home and shot down. Campbell pleaded insanity and he saved his life to spend it in penal ser- vitude. ly the convicts were divided Into according to the choice of pective owners. And the next v they were still further divided, as were apportioned off to the sub- : For these contractors, be it *ap no small profit in renting their sle to other masters who have not the necessary funds to deal directly with the State. I was rather interested in knowing that a man convicted of murder was the first choice. Cranford admired his physique. He looked like a man who could stand almost anything, so Cran- rd took him. His name is James nd while a policeman in Jack- two years a killed a man he shot from St. down Louls. the bind him unless execu- and Death only can release him from shackle that tiv mency shall interfere with the sentence passed upon him. An average of a little more than $30 per head had been paid for this y: labor of each man, woman and ch convict in the State—surely a pittance when it is con the cheape nd clothed in in winter Of the Albi of food antiest of raiment little in summer. cts thus disposed of ninety-four were white and inder were negroes. Of the there were ninety-one men, two nd one woman. Of the negroes at ne were women, thirty-one en the ages of 12 and 16, and der were men. The convicts are emmployed princi- y in the phn\x bhate nrines and tur- pentine cam f the State. They rked u iard, and gen with shac! on th legs to prevent them f ym running aw Besides this there is always an armed force of over them, according to the of convicts, and in, case of an attempted escape the guard does not hesitate to shoot. Four were killed in this manner during the last year. ard is kept busy during the en- r gathering up the convicts as entenced in the various coun- r frequently requires When being taken Jail they are hand- dozen seen being marched to YOUR CHANCES the from cuffed together, and frequently County or more will be “No, we don't always get the best of the machine,” said the cigar dealer, as he meditatively arranged home-made cigars in a gorgeously labeled Havana box. ‘““Most people seem to think we do, though, especially when they hap- pen to drop two or three nickels at the game. “At the best we only get from ten and a half to eleven cents for each bit cigar we sell through the machine. It would pay us better to sell the cigars for straight cash.” It was a leading cigar store, at one of the busiest Market street center and the proprietor courteously pro- duced his books in crder to assure a Call representative of the veracity of his statement. They keep a strict re- cord of the doings of the poker machine at this place, or rather of the pair, for as usual in large stor there are two, one on each end of the counter. The main obj of this arrangement seems to be to e customers a chance K. to change their luck. If one machine does not _give good results, most peo- ple try the other. While we were talking, a_well-dressed merchant bus- tled in. ““Ten nickels, please,” he cried hurriedly, depositing halt a dollar. hosphate mines e others wheel it the turpentine the station in this mann to the headquarters they are provided with ere striped suit, and then marched off to st box the trees, the camp where they are to work out the turpentine their senten If the camp Is more The worl than twenty miles from Albion they a ull [& \n' nue taken on the train, but otherwi are marched thr riving at th work doing wh sires. The work is hard, L'l\ the ature was a committee of who are not accustomed to i ted to visit the cially under the conditions that ate. This com- to work, with sha e port e of the camps to condition. The re- s follows: le sufficie: xul\ 10 f about one n being onl permit them to ta extreme port of ‘one camp I a step o Then he started Vv €Y 1at- cigars to the lucky gamester, seems ex- ically, first at one machine and then remote. A clever mathema- at the other, until he had dropped two < calculatetl that, with a mn dollars’ worth of nickels. He i A -two (Arlh there are get any wonderful hands, nothing b and of !lwee ter than two pairs, or a pair of aces, can be flush sequences. yet when he reckoned up the result of be 624 fours, .uH {ull hands, his forty chances, he was entitied to flust mon twenty-two cigars. 12 triplets, l‘.' two “That will give you a fair idea of W pairs, while the total is how the thing works,” said the pro- 540 other hand: prietor. “The house is out just six bits ines in use in this city by that deal, for the man h two dol- lars and seventy-five cents’ werth of cigars for two dol As a general rule, and barring exceptional char a man playing a dollar gets his money worth.” Yet it is the exceptional vhnh often happen: nd cards ha ghtly lessened because ly fifty cards on the cylin- s 1educes the number of pos- 2,110,426, or by about one- the winning combi- red in proportion, the royal flush, ; treated, having s are dim exception « freaks. Quite recently into the store, and at his f throw half. got four aces on one machine. He stood This is because both the cards miss- back and gazed a - hand. Fanhing .- the: tev iat “It looks so pretty S | ack of hearts, are es- won't disturb it.” h R G He walked to the machine at the flushes might: occur: other end of the counter an ; Tmachine there can be but again, when, behold, anoth o e ot oult came into view. The chances such a thing happening are almos ever, in the month of December calculable, yet it did happen. were three royal and seven In the same way, the chance of a ht flushes played here, while dur- royal flush, which’ means a hundred the present month of January four SNAP-SHOT 1 Below are a set of pictures taken from e e AL LORIDA CONTRACTORS EXAMINING THE CONVICTS BEFORE MAKING THEIR BIDS “We went out to where the p were at work in the wood the buckets of food, found that it was not wholesome; bread sour and very meat with rations. good; beds fair. swamp. Yy S Health tc e found at the ¢ that the meal was made : the camp in fair condition othe In another case the camp of the pris found to be in a palmetto Here fted 11 and no bors the contractors profit and grow rich. B BACK FROM THE RACES. OW easy it is to pick the win- ners; aye, and the lose too. See that skulking figure in black amp up sour, but s another ondition of camp bad; food vonder, sliding along against iding poor; prisoners over- o S royal and three straight flushes have {Ilir‘k?db““ T e sy it the wall. “Rest assured, son so far turned up. Theoretically, the gynner They had only bread and syrup SR EIRglemylod hes izl her last result is all wrong; there should | o s ; husband’s hard-earned wages. and an have been ever so many more straight than royal flushes. But calculations seem to have no effect on this curious ufficient quantity. alsc at this camp an in: nent for water for bathing pur- There flicient ar Two colored ladies flit by, their gay apparel in direct contradiction to such woe-begone faces. A jolly party fol- instrument; the boy with a solitary ““Here was another one: “We found lows, unmercifully joshing a sorrowing nickel. will drop in and win a prize (gngjtion of camp bad, white and col- brother. I catch the words, “Thelma” Wwhich the gambler has vainly risked greq convicts being in the same cells; —“Knew soon as I saw her’—-Sure five or ten dollars to obtain. These are priconers ill fed; bedding poor; poor winner.” “Vell, vell,” replies the sor- every-day experiences, but the cigar food, dealer’s records contain an instance of more than normal eccentricit “We had a machine once, “which behaved thought it w g pline bad.” he said, outrageously. I fenses are insufficient and of poor materia health bad. and treatment and disci- The criminals convicted of minor of- enced to serve terms in rowful one; “vy didn't you told m Several young men pass. “Why didn’t—"If you"—‘Played as I wanted to—." A group of slovenly mudhens scurries going to ruin the house. the county jai nd this means, in past, each clutching a crumpled score It kept o urning up flushes . and t of the counties of the State, that card in an ungloved hand. straights with the most alarming fre- ¢ are to be worked upon the county A swellish-looking crowd passes, ac- quency, while four aces was the most roads. In Duval County, which has the companied by the darkest of darkie commonpl of accurrenc It was most criminals of any in the State, hav- adorned in a sporty suit of checked a new machine, and it had been run- ing the largest population, from forty -tweed. He is gesticulating positively. ning me than a month, when, one to sixty prison are worked in this One of the party—a lovely young day, in fit of absent-mindedness, it manner the year round. The county woman—rests her hand upon his shoul- gave aw its iniquity It displayed pays a man forty cents a day to guard, der, devouring his ery look and word. five aces to our astonished gaze, and feed and work them The work being Others trail past—some moody, oth the player who struck it at once de- on the public roads, the county ge triumphant, as the case may be. manded 500 cigars for such a marvel- the benefit of their labor, which “What luck, Jerry?” ous hand. Of course we didn’t pay, msidered to cost ten cents a da » answer, save a shrug of the shoul« but instead we took the machine and Even under this tem the convicts shook it to pieces. There were two are compelled to undergo many hard- Kr'\ce up, old man; better luck to- aces of clubs within it, and for a whole month it had been concealing the awful fact from us. That machine ended its career on our counter abruptly.” ships. to the level of slav Such is the convict system of Flor- ida—a system which reduces prisoners morrow. The old song, “Better luck to-mor- row—and if not to-morrow, next day, s, upon whose la- sure.” G. B. snapshot phb- 1 “The next step taken was the letting down of the of- “At last the carpenter reported twenty-two feet of he foundering of a big oc A ficers i for the purpose of examining the sides of water, and then the captain ordered everybody into the of incidents led up to the taking I"‘Flli\'_"!}‘ could not see frm(n one they re- ‘boats at a minute’s notice. I dashed downstairs to see ording to The Strand Magazine. other. Our horns and sir pparent damage, be- §f I could save any of my belongings, but the only thing Here The Os: s and g like mad ot content with this, Cap- I could find at the moment was my little hand camera. - he Osal te ig! were twel n.‘ carpenter to report every half- J passed the strap about my shoulders in such a way tion Com ced an order in the Portugue: fter 10 o'clock fi t of water was that the instrument in no way impeded my movements. the construction of a passenger steamer of elegant lines saloons and th hold. No the captain's in- “After taking to the boats we remained very near the and high speed. This ship. afterward named the Tal- -llr;lldm\;hlm !Hh"hl! o wn'l oF: \)lm;| I]al\\‘hun seven f-'lll‘ e ship—w mn; a }‘mlndn yarc .;f kmmi» this time d. ok as buil s 8i & O dickson's yard o Mid ne. a <] ul c 1 and 8 thro e he decided to maxe for Lisbon in- wned and W able to take e st two p R et P ey b S Ren RO T he room. 1 picked myself up and An anxious night, you may be sure. At half-past phe. ‘Thera was. however, & conslqorable BROTO UR s artiepoel. out without a moment’s delay into the alley * morning the inexorable ‘carpenter reported six- between them. After two or three hours, a large vessel, ¢ to be handed over to waited there a moment, and then gained the de t of water! which proved to be the Millfield of Whitby, bore down accordingly she was provided with a ord tim: I distinct w the outlines of a great steam- ip was slowly sinking: twere couid be no upon us, in response to our flag signal ) nough hands to take her over to er siowiy dropping astern. She continued to 2 the t; alread » was noticeably down by the according to the International Code, means ‘in as to pick up a mixed cargo, con- Tai-Hoku, and as she cleared she struck our ship a kind head, and her forward compartments e slowly but require a ance.’ sisting larg on pipes. The Tai-Hoku was of parting blow on the poop. Perhaps you can imagine surely filling. ““At our request, also under orders t up the remainder of her crew -4 into what a state of THE DESERTED SHIP—FILLING RAPIDLY. confus on our mixed crew was ANOTHER STAGE. the Millfield left us immediately after verything was managed splendidly. When eigh- this, she being in a hurry to get home. ltogether, there were forty-mne hands, thrown. Qur captain, however. was a splendid fellow. was Teported e e T By . Ew hamg sgroes, Belgians. Swedes and Ger- and when he v e other ship about to strike him, he ons, instruments ing of v poor quality, this prov a pry diffic ‘lh[ {xed lot indeed. put his helm hard down, to that the blow was much less and flaus J¢h the fatal Sunday, and all night matter, At any rate, we determined to See the Jass was the onz on “severe than it might otherwise have been. Furthermore, aiso, th 3‘ng was of extraordinary density. Sirens and our ship. The end was now very near. ext Synday, and & he restored absolute order in the ship within half an horns other than our own were heard very frequently, ginary occurrence that hastened It was the displomrnons at that. This was July 1, hour of the collision. but one could see nothing. of the engines, which, as the Wai-Hoku's head be LAST FEW MOMENTS. gan to go down and her stern to come un. through the s with a rumbling sound thunder, and doubtless made another great the bow. “After another period of anxi waiting, the bri fell forward. at the same time 1g the cords communicated with the sirens, and causing them to s ream over the The nex breach in of the watel \thl u: : 0 feet into €t and_these, a kind of last photogra ing. “The uyg \\ ard rush of of seot from the flues hover over the place was no whirlpool of an: 3100 tons took her very s the ship was ried a gre plainly see disappear- t quantity the Tai-Hoku sank. There When this great vestel of l’\-‘ little flotilla of boats 1ld ne bee ards distant. Stand- ey atte mere iThetic bits of O s it hen-coops, a boat, ie Horkets. seats 3 X FINAL PLUNGE—BOILERS EXPLODING.